Malaysia improves in terrorism ranking, but region emerges as hotspot

Malaysia improves in terrorism ranking, but region emerges as hotspot

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has improved its position in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2018, as the number of deaths from terrorism globally declined for the third year in a row last year.

The report by Australia-based Institute of Economics and Peace released on Wednesday (Dec 5) named Malaysia as among the contributors towards what it called the “second wave of Islamic terrorism” through Islamic State (IS)-affiliated groups and separatist movements here.

Malaysia scored 2.7 out of 10, down from 3.334 last year. Zero denotes no impact of terrorism while the higher the number, the greater the impact of terrorism on the population.

Malaysia was also ranked 70th out of 138 countries in the index that seeks to measure the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, and casualties as well as damage to property in a country.

It was a marked improvement from Malaysia’s previous rank of 60th.

The overall average ranking of the region has decreased, due to rising terrorism in the Philippines and Myanmar — which accounted for over 87 percent of all deaths from terrorism in the region last year.

The GTI is based on the Global Terrorism Database and defines “terrorism” as “threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.” MALAY MAIL